Rain Falls Within
by TamChronin
Summary: [Tsubasa]"Your price is that tattoo." "Wouldn't you rather take my staff?" "No. As I said, I require that which is most important to you." ...so just why is that tattoo so important? Speculation on Fye's past.


**_Rain Falls Within_ **

The Price 

_"Your price is that tattoo." _

The smile was frozen on my face. "Wouldn't you rather take my staff?" I couldn't manage the heartbreak if-- 

"No. As I said, I require that which is most important to you." 

Ah. Well. Yes. That it was. I nodded, never losing my smile though it hurt all over again. She knew what she was asking. "Well, I suppose it can't be helped." I didn't sigh in misery, though inside I felt like crying. Instead I simply said goodbye. 

~~~~~@~~~~~ 

I sat alone in the ancient stone chamber, wide-eyed with wonder. The room was nearly bare but for a comfortable chair that I perched on uncomfortably, and a padded table that was clearly meant to be laid on. I had a vague idea of what to expect, but nothing solid. They had asked me if I could bear the pain, over and over, and I had always said yes. For what was offered, I would do what was required. 

The door opened with a deep grumble, and I stood as soon as I heard that distinctive sound. Only one person would be opening that door. I bowed as a young man my age entered. "Your Highness," I greeted softly, my nervousness prompting me to smile as I rose. 

He shook his head. "In this room there are no titles. It's a long tradition in my family." 

I cocked my head to the side, waiting for a moment, but he didn't seem to catch on. "Well, if I don't use your title, what do you wish me to call you?" 

He blinked at me in surprise. "You mean to tell me they picked someone who doesn't even know my name?" He laughed. 

"It's not that," I said softly, looking away. "I know that you're Prince Ashura, but I wasn't sure if there was another name I should call you." 

I heard footfalls as he crossed the room to stand before me. He reached out and held my chin firmly, guiding my gaze back to his face. His eyes were the same crystal blue that I met in the mirror each day, but his hair was black as midnight. The contrast made me shiver, though I didn't know why at the time. "I would like for you to call me Ashura. My full name is long and cumbersome, used only for matters of state, and in this room the only name I want to hear is the one that sets me apart from anyone else with my blood." 

"I'm honored to meet you, Ashura." I hesitated over his name, wanting to put "Prince" before it from habit. It was an unexpected trial, placed on top of the others I would be facing. "I am Fye D. Flowright." 

"I was already told who you are, Fye. I'm glad to meet you at last." He stepped away, and that's when I noticed the cart he had carried with him. I didn't recognize the tools placed upon the tray, but one looked very sharp. There was a vial of black liquid also, and that is the first thing Ashura touched. "Take off your shirt, Fye, and lay on the table face down." 

I shivered again as I began to undo the buttons. "May I yet ask--?" 

"No. I'll tell you in a moment, but right now you must trust me." 

I nodded, giving him one more look before I pulled off my shirt and set it aside. I lay on the table as instructed, resting my head on my arms and looking to the side, but I was unable to watch what Ashura was doing. I heard a soft clinking, and various other sounds, but I tried not to hear it. I was trying to relax, trying to show that I would trust him, as utterly and completely as I was told I must. 

I finally heard him approach once again, this time pulling the cart with him across the room. It took a great deal of willpower to not flinch, but this is what I'd been schooled for. I must trust him, absolutely. 

He walked around the table and kneeled so he could see my face. "It will tickle a little at first. You must endure that, even when I make a mistake and have to wash away something. I have to do this from memory at first and there will be precious little magic to guide me. Do you think you can do that?" 

I smiled, nodding. "This is how I become your mage?" 

"No, this is how I test you. Now, lay still and don't ask any more questions." He stood and began rubbing something into my skin along my back. It smelled astringent, but I had no idea what it actually was. My skin tingled and burned a little where he rubbed, and I found myself wrinkling my nose at the strong scent. That part was over quickly, and that's when I felt something tickling along my back. He started along my spine, tracing some pattern lightly across my skin. I couldn't tell exactly what it was, but there were a few times where I would smell that astringent odor again, and he'd rub away whatever line he had made a moment before. 

"Put your arms out straight, please, then relax again." As I did so he pulled something from either side of the table, and I had a place to rest my arms. He started with my right arm, and since I didn't dare move I didn't see what he was doing at first. When he moved to my left arm he didn't even glance at me, but he began lightly drawing the outline of a bold and striking design that curved over my arm. From where I watched it seemed to flow across of its own will, and the brush was simply following the way. 

"Sit up," he finally instructed. He traced further pattern out onto my chest and around my arms, and seemed almost satisfied. He walked around me, examining closely the designs he'd made, but he frowned by the time he returned to the front. "Loosen your pants, then lay back down on your stomach." Again I smelled the astringent substance and felt the cool touch, this time on the small of my back. He pulled at my pants until my entire back was exposed, then began to expand the outline downward. Still he wasn't satisfied. "Stand," he ordered, and I obeyed. My pants fell around my ankles, and my shorts followed quickly after with only a glance from him. I was completely exposed, but he kept his expression neutral as he kept drawing. 

We both knew as soon as he was finished that he'd done it right. The outline glowed a brilliant blue, and then disappeared entirely from my sight. It tingled though, and itched. I absently moved to scratch it, but Ashura knocked aside my hands. "Oh, I'm sorry," I whispered, scared that I'd disqualified myself. 

"Natural reaction. Father told me to expect it once you can't see the lines anymore, so I was ready. This is the part that will really tickle for a while, but you must wait until the paint dries." 

"Paint?" 

He nodded. "I can still see it, but no one else can. It will be that way until the full moon, and then you'll be able to see it as well. I have to make it permanent by the next new moon, or it will be lost." 

"Permanent?" For some reason, that worried me. 

He just nodded. "The entire outline must be done within the month. If you can not handle that, you will be sent back and they'll give me someone less qualified." 

"I'll do what is asked of me," I said, closing my eyes. This wasn't nearly as scary as I'd been afraid of. I could do this easily. I was embarrassed to stand there before him completely exposed, but I would do worse things than this to recognize my potential and be more than just another body on the field the next time war broke out. 

"For now, just stand there. You can rest against the back of the chair, or move about some, but don't touch any part that tingles or itches. Can you do that?" 

I hoped so. 

~~~~~@~~~~~ 

It was about an hour later when Ashura walked over to the cart, pulled out a rough cloth and beckoned me over. I walked over carefully, making sure not to disturb any of the itching lines that seemed to now cover my entire body. He began rubbing over the lines he'd made, calming the itch immediately. "We're almost ready to begin," he murmured softly, so close to my ear. 

"What do I do?" 

"You lay perfectly still, and let me know when you can't take anymore." 

I looked at him with wide eyes, wondering where this was going to go. "This is why I was asked if I would subject myself to pain?" 

He nodded solemnly, standing back as he finished rubbing me down. "Do you remember your lessons?" 

"Yes." 

"You'll need them at first, but it will be easier later on. At least, that's what I was told." For that moment alone he actually looked like someone my age, rather than the future monarch. It was the first time I saw doubt on his face like that. 

I smiled at him reassuringly. "I will trust you," I said as I returned to my place on the table. 

He didn't say another word, but I saw him smile as he turned away. By the time he returned to my side with the cart and tray of strange objects he had his face set in a solidly neutral expression, but I closed my eyes and just remembered that smile. That's the image I held with me over the next hour as the maddening pain began. 

~~~~~@~~~~~ 

"It burns," I finally whispered, gasping as I clenched my eyes shut. I just couldn't force myself to relax around the pain anymore. 

He stopped immediately. "Is that ten more minutes, or stop right now?" 

"I-I don't know. I'm having a hard time thinking of anything else." 

I heard him putting down his tools; then he moved around to look me in the eye. "Yes, that's enough for today." He almost absently brushed hair away from my face, smiling kindly as he looked back down at my back. "You've done well. We should be able to finish well within the month." 

I sighed in relief, unable to stop the silly grin from spreading on my face. "One month? Of this? Oh, that's easy. I could do that standing on my head. Does this mean I pass?" 

His hand was still resting on my head, warm but slightly trembling. "Fye, the month is just the beginning. I'm doing the outline. It will take a lot longer to fill it in. Only then will you have your power." 

I nodded weakly. "Piece of cake." 

He must have seen something in me that I didn't want to share. Ashura bent over and brushed a kiss on my temple, sending shivers through my entire body. I was not used to being touched so much by anyone. "There is another rule about this room, usually unspoken. In here, you don't have to be brave." 

He was speaking into my ear, his warm breath tickling my skin. I stifled a moan, and I think it was from the pain. That's what I told myself. "It's okay. It hurts, but it's nothing I can't handle." 

He pulled away and nodded. "Close your eyes and rest. I need to clean everything, and bandage you up. Feel free to rest as long as you'd like, no one will chase you out of here after I leave. They'll wait as long as you want them to." 

I laughed lightly, amused to think of Minister Shawara patiently waiting to usher me back to classes. He was the strictest of teachers, never known to cater to a student for any reason. "Will they really?" 

"If they don't, tell me tomorrow. It won't happen again." He said it with a smile, but there was steel behind his eyes. He meant it, and he was in a position to make sure of it. 

I closed my eyes and allowed myself to relax. I almost jumped when he performed the necessary prodding involved in bandaging the area, but he was gentle and it was over with quickly. I kept my eyes closed until I heard the door open and then close again. Only after I was sure he'd already left, only then I put my clothes back on carefully, wincing as I fastened my pants and felt the pull against raw skin. He'd started at the small of my back. I would have to pick carefully when I dressed tomorrow, but I couldn't think of anything I owned that wouldn't rub against me. 

I shook my head and laughed lightly at these thoughts. "Don't be a baby, Fye. It's worth it. It hurts, but it's worth it. Nothing worth it is ever easy." 

Indeed, getting this far hadn't been easy in the slightest, but I was here. And, it was worth it. 

~~~~~@~~~~~ 

_Author's Note: _

There will be much more to this one. *Much* more. Just a little exploration of Fye's past, pure speculation and fancy on my part. There's not much to back me up in the manga so far, but there's not a lot to contradict me either. This could change in a heartbeat though, sadly. ~pouts~ So, please be patient and understanding as I explore my ideas of why he is the way he is. 

Also, I've seen this character's name romanized a few different ways, but " Fye D. Flowright" seems to be the popular version currently. I suppose we'll find out the official one next year when Del Rey puts out the manga in English. If enough people can convince me to change it, politely, maybe I'll go back and do so. 'Till then, please accept it the way it is. 

Thank you for reading! 


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